ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the theoretical foundations of the field of spatial economics, especially its evolutionary side. It considers factors and conditions that influence decisions on where to locate a business or an industry in an evolutionary space. A research agenda (Section 2) is followed by considerations about relations between economics and geography in Section 3. Basic concepts in biology, economics and evolution are found in Section 4. Theories of location (Section 5) are presented without concern about the ownership and control of firms; foreign ownership issues are covered in Chapter 5. Complex systems and evolutionary economics are the focus of Section 6. Section 7 discusses various locational possibilities in space. Select spatial units, i.e. clusters, cities and regions, are analysed in Section 8. The impact of history and expectations on the location of firms and industries is described in Section 9. Section 10 deals with the effect of war on the locational issues, while Section 11 concludes the chapter.
